Bucket with movable side wings

ABSTRACT

A bucket with movable side wings for use with a material moving machine to collect material. The bucket having at least one collecting surface which includes a top, bottom and two sides. The bucket having two extended sides which extend out from the sides of the at least one collecting surface. There is a first wing rotatably attached to the one of the extended sides of the bucket and including at least one collecting surface adapted for collecting and retaining material. There is a second wing rotatably attached to the other extended side of the bucket and including at least one collecting surface adapted for collecting and retaining material. Also, included is an actuator connected between the bucket and each of the wings to move the wings about the bucket.

BACKGROUND

The present invention generally relates to excavation and snow removalequipment. More specifically, the present invention relates to a bucketwith movable side wings which can be attached to excavation and snowremoval equipment.

Machines with buckets are used to collect natural and man-made materialsduring excavation, material loading and snow removal. Examples of suchmaterials are dirt, rock, snow, and man-made raw materials formanufacture. It is difficult to fill a bucket with materials in an openarea, unless there is a pile of the material to dig against or there isa stationary surface to push against when loading the bucket. When astationary surface such as a wall of a building is used, it isinevitable that damage will occur to the stationary surface. Anotherissue with using a bucket is the ability to retain the material in afull bucket when moving the material from one location to the next,without spilling the material from the bucket.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a bucket which cancollect more material in an open area reduce the need to push thematerial against a stationary surface to completely fill the bucket andretain the material in the bucket during transport.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A bucket with movable side wings for use with a material moving machineto collect material. The bucket having at least one collecting surfacewhich includes a top, bottom and two sides. The bucket having twoextended sides which extend out from the sides of the at least onecollecting surface. There is a first wing rotatably attached to the oneof the extended sides of the bucket and including at least onecollecting surface adapted for collecting and retaining material. Thereis a second wing rotatably attached to the other extended side of thebucket and including at least one collecting surface adapted forcollecting and retaining material. Also, included is an actuatorconnected between the bucket and each of the wings to move the wingsabout the bucket.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a bucket on a machine according to thepresent invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a bucket on a machine according to thepresent invention.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a bucket according to the presentinvention.

FIG. 4 is an exploded view of a bucket according to the presentinvention.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a bucket according to the presentinvention.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a bucket according to the presentinvention.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a bucket according to the presentinvention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The present invention is a bucket 10 with side movable wings 12. FIGS.1-7 show the bucket 10 with movable side wings 12. The bucket 10 is foruse with excavation, material loading and snow removal equipment. It isespecially useful on a skid loader type vehicle 14 for snow removal, asshown in FIGS. 1-2. The wings 12 of the bucket 10 aid in collectingmaterial such as snow 16, as shown in FIG. 1. The material can be snow,dirt or any other type of natural or man-made material. Snow is referredherein as one example of material that can be collected by the bucket10. The wings 12 are rotatably attached to the bucket 10. The wings 12rotate inwards toward the center of the bucket 10 to aid in collectingthe snow 16 into the bucket 10. The wings 12 are used to collectadditional snow 18 which would not normally be collected by the bucket10. When the wings 12 are rotated into the bucket 10, the snow 18collected by the wings 12 is loaded into the bucket 10 and all the snow16, 18 in the bucket 10 is secure in the bucket 10, as shown in FIG. 2.With the snow 16, 18 secured in the bucket 10 by the wings 12, thebucket 10 can lifted and moved without losing the collected snow 16, 18.This allows more material to be collected in an open area and reducesthe need to push the snow against a stationary object to fill a bucketwith material.

FIG. 4 shows an exploded partial view of the bucket 10 with movable sidewings 12, whereby the wings 12 are removed from the bucket 10. Thebucket 10 is shown with collecting surfaces 20 and extended sides 22which extend from the collecting surfaces 20 of the bucket 10. Thebucket 10 is similar to most buckets used with machines for excavation,material loading and snow removal. The wings 12 include a collectingsurface 24 bordered by inside side 26 and an outside side 28. Theoutside and inside sides 26, 28 of each wing 12 extend outward from thecollecting surface 24. The extended outside and inside sides 26, 28 ofeach wing 12 aid in collecting and securing material within the confinesof collecting surface 24 of the wing 12 and aid in retaining materialsin the bucket 10. A hinge 30 is used to connect the wing 12 to thebucket 10, as shown in FIGS. 3-6. Each wing 12 is connected to thebucket 10 by the hinge 30 between the insides sides 26 of the wings 12and the extended sides 22 of the bucket 10. The wing 12 includes a tophinge section 32 and a bottom hinge section 34 and the bucket 10includes a top hinge section 36 and a bottom hinge section 38, as shownin FIG. 4. The hinge sections 32, 34, 36, 38 together form the hinge 30and connect the bucket 10 to each wing 12. The hinge sections 32, 34 ofthe wing 12 are attached to the inside side 26 of the wing. The hingesections 36, 38 of the bucket 10 are attached to the extended sides 22of the bucket 10. Each hinge section 32, 34, 36, 38 includes an opencylinder 40 with an open center 42 to receive a hinge pin 44, as shownin FIG. 4. Each hinge section 32, 34, 36, 38 includes a grease fitting46 which leads to the open center 42 of each open cylinder 40. Thegrease fitting 46 allows the hinge pin 44 to be greased in the area ofeach open center 42 of each open cylinder 40. FIGS. 5-6 show a close upview of the hinge sections 32, 34, 36, 38 and the hinge pin 44. FIG. 5-6show the top hinge section 32 of the wing 12 below the top hinge section36 of the bucket 10 and the bottom hinge section 34 of the wing 12 abovethe bottom hinge section 38 of the bucket 10. FIG. 4-6 show the hingepin 44 with a cap 48 and a lock pin 50, which both secure the hinge pin44 in the hinge sections 32, 34, 36, 38.

FIG. 3 shows two hydraulic pistons 52. Each hydraulic piston 52 isattached between the bucket 10 and one of the wings 12. The hydraulicpistons 52 act as a wing actuator. The bucket 10 includes two bucketattachment flanges 54 extending from the bucket 10, as shown in FIGS. 3and 5. Each bucket attachment flange 54 includes a pin hole 56 toreceive a pin 58. Each hydraulic piston 52 includes a main body 60, afix jaw end 62 and a movable jaw end 64. The fixed jaw end 62 and themovable jaw end 64 both include a U-shaped clevis 66 with a pin hole 68.The U-shaped clevis 66 of the fixed end 62 is directly attached to themain body 60 of the hydraulic piston 52. The U-shaped clevis 66 of themovable end 64 is attached to a piston shaft 70 which extends from themain body 60 of the hydraulic piston 52. The piston shaft 70 moves inand out of the main body 60 due to hydraulic pressure from two hoses 72connected to the main body 60. The two hoses 72 of each hydraulic piston52 are connected to a manifold 74. The manifold 74 is connected to themachine to which the bucket 10 is connected. The machine to which thebucket 10 is connected will have a hydraulic system to actuate thehydraulic pistons 52. The bucket attachment flange 54 fits within theU-shaped clevis 66 of the fixed end 62, whereby the pin holes 56, 68 ofthe U-shaped clevis 66 and the bucket attachment flange 54 are aligned.Locking pins 76 are used to secure the U-shaped clevis 66 of the fixedend 62 to the bucket attachment flange 54, by placing the locking pins76 through the aligned pin holes 56, 68. The wings 12 each include awing attachment flange 78 with a pin hole 80, as shown in FIG. 4. Thewing attachment flange 78 fits within the U-shaped clevis 66 of themovable end 64, whereby the pin holes 68, 80 of the U-shaped clevis 66and the wing attachment flange 78 are aligned to receive a locking pin76, as shown in FIG. 7. Locking pins 76 are used to secure the U-shapedclevis 66 of the movable end 64 to the wing attachment flange 78, byplacing the locking pins 76 through the aligned pin holes 68, 78.Movement of piston shaft 70 due to hydraulic pressure, from the machineto which the bucket 10 is attached, moves the wings 12 about the bucket10 at the hinge 30. Other types of actuators can be used to replace thehydraulic piston 52 for moving the wings 12 about the bucket 10 at thehinge 30.

While different embodiments of the invention have been described indetail herein, it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art thatvarious modifications and alternatives to the embodiments could bedeveloped in light of the overall teachings of the disclosure.Accordingly, the particular arrangements are illustrative only and arenot limiting as to the scope of the invention that is to be given thefull breadth of any and all equivalents thereof.

1. A bucket with movable side wings, for use with a material moving machine to collect material, comprising: a bucket, said bucket having at least one collecting surface which includes a top, bottom and two sides, said bucket having two extended sides which extend out from said sides of said at least one collecting surface and are adapted to retain the material, whereby one of said two extended sides is a first extended side and the other of said two extended sides is a second extended side; a first wing rotatably attached to said first extended side of said bucket and including at least one collecting surface adapted for collecting and retaining the material; a second wing rotatably attached to said second extended side of said bucket and including at least one collecting surface adapted for collecting and retaining the material; an actuator connected between said bucket and said first and second wings to move said first and second wings about said bucket where said first and second wings are rotatably attached.
 2. The bucket with movable side wings as claimed in claim 1, wherein a hinge is used to rotatably attach said first and second wings to said bucket.
 3. The bucket with movable side wings as claimed in claim 2, wherein said hinge is made up of a top hinge section and a bottom hinge section on each of said wings and a top hinge section and a bottom hinge section on each of said extended sides of said bucket; and wherein each of said hinge sections includes an open cylinder with an open center to receive a hinge pin.
 4. The bucket with movable side wings as claimed in claim 1, wherein said wings each include an inside side which extends from said at least one collecting surface of said wing; wherein said wings each include an outside side which extends from said at least one collecting surface of said wings.
 5. The bucket with movable side wings as claimed in claim 3, wherein said wings each include an inside side which extends from said at least one collecting surface of said wing; wherein said wings each include an outside side which extends from said at least one collecting surface of said wings.
 6. The bucket with movable side wings as claimed in claim 5, wherein said top and bottom hinge sections of said wings are attached to said inside sides of said wings.
 7. The bucket with movable side wings as claimed in claim 1, wherein said actuator includes a first hydraulic piston connected between said first wing and said bucket; wherein said actuator includes a second hydraulic piston connected between said second wing and said bucket; wherein said first and second hydraulic pistons are adapted to be operated from the machine.
 8. The bucket with movable side wings as claimed in claim 7, wherein each said hydraulic piston includes a main body, a fix jaw end and a movable jaw end; wherein said fixed jaw end and said movable jaw end both include a U-shaped clevis with a pin hole; wherein said U-shaped clevis of said fixed end is directly attached to said main body; wherein said U-shaped clevis of said movable end is attached to a piston shaft which extends from said main body; wherein said piston shaft moves in and out of said main body due to hydraulic pressure; wherein said bucket includes a bucket attachment flange for each wing which fits within said U-shaped clevis of said fixed end; wherein said wings each include a wing attachment flange with a pin hole which fits within said U-shaped clevis of said movable end; and further including locking pins to secure said U-shaped clevis of said movable end to said wing attachment flange and said U-shaped clevis of said fixed end to said bucket attachment flange, by placing said locking pins through said pin holes of said U-shaped clevises and said flanges.
 9. The bucket with movable side wings as claimed in claim 1, wherein said wings are rotatably attached such that said wings can rotate and enclose an area of said bucket encompassed by said at least one collecting surface and said extended sides of said bucket.
 10. The bucket with movable side wings as claimed in claim 2, wherein said actuator includes a first hydraulic piston connected between said first wing and said bucket; wherein said actuator includes a second hydraulic piston connected between said second wing and said bucket; wherein said first and second hydraulic pistons are adapted to be operated from the machine.
 11. The bucket with movable side wings as claimed in claim 3, wherein said actuator includes a first hydraulic piston connected between said first wing and said bucket; wherein said actuator includes a second hydraulic piston connected between said second wing and said bucket; wherein said first and second hydraulic pistons are adapted to be operated from the machine.
 12. The bucket with movable side wings as claimed in claim 4, wherein said actuator includes a first hydraulic piston connected between said first wing and said bucket; wherein said actuator includes a second hydraulic piston connected between said second wing and said bucket; wherein said first and second hydraulic pistons are adapted to be operated from the machine.
 13. The bucket with movable side wings as claimed in claim 5, wherein said actuator includes a first hydraulic piston connected between said first wing and said bucket; wherein said actuator includes a second hydraulic piston connected between said second wing and said bucket; wherein said first and second hydraulic pistons are adapted to be operated from the machine.
 14. The bucket with movable side wings as claimed in claim 6, wherein said actuator includes a first hydraulic piston connected between said first wing and said bucket; wherein said actuator includes a second hydraulic piston connected between said second wing and said bucket; wherein said first and second hydraulic pistons are adapted to be operated from the machine.
 15. The bucket with movable side wings as claimed in claim 11, wherein each said hydraulic piston includes a main body, a fix jaw end and a movable jaw end; wherein said fixed jaw end and said movable jaw end both include a U-shaped clevis with a pin hole; wherein said U-shaped clevis of said fixed end is directly attached to said main body; wherein said U-shaped clevis of said movable end is attached to a piston shaft which extends from said main body; wherein said piston shaft moves in and out of said main body due to hydraulic pressure; wherein said bucket includes a bucket attachment flange for each wing which fits within said U-shaped clevis of said fixed end; wherein said wings each include a wing attachment flange with a pin hole which fits within said U-shaped clevis of said movable end; and further including locking pins to secure said U-shaped clevis of said movable end to said wing attachment flange and said U-shaped clevis of said fixed end to said bucket attachment flange, by placing said locking pins through said pin holes of said U-shaped clevises and said flanges.
 16. The bucket with movable side wings as claimed in claim 12, wherein each said hydraulic piston includes a main body, a fix jaw end and a movable jaw end; wherein said fixed jaw end and said movable jaw end both include a U-shaped clevis with a pin hole; wherein said U-shaped clevis of said fixed end is directly attached to said main body; wherein said U-shaped clevis of said movable end is attached to a piston shaft which extends from said main body; wherein said piston shaft moves in and out of said main body due to hydraulic pressure; wherein said bucket includes a bucket attachment flange for each wing which fits within said U-shaped clevis of said fixed end; wherein said wings each include a wing attachment flange with a pin hole which fits within said U-shaped clevis of said movable end; and further including locking pins to secure said U-shaped clevis of said movable end to said wing attachment flange and said U-shaped clevis of said fixed end to said bucket attachment flange, by placing said locking pins through said pin holes of said U-shaped clevises and said flanges.
 17. The bucket with movable side wings as claimed in claim 5, wherein said wings are rotatably attached such that said wings can rotate and enclose an area of said bucket encompassed by said at least one collecting surface and said extended sides of said bucket.
 18. The bucket with movable side wings as claimed in claim 6, wherein said wings are rotatably attached such that said wings can rotate and enclose an area of said bucket encompassed by said at least one collecting surface and said extended sides of said bucket.
 19. The bucket with movable side wings as claimed in claim 7, wherein said wings are rotatably attached such that said wings can rotate and enclose an area of said bucket encompassed by said at least one collecting surface and said extended sides of said bucket.
 20. The bucket with movable side wings as claimed in claim 8, wherein said wings are rotatably attached such that said wings can rotate and enclose an area of said bucket encompassed by said at least one collecting surface and said extended sides of said bucket. 